


The Next Best Thing

by sarai377



Series: Protected [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Timeline, Angst, Knotting, M/M, Omegaverse, mostly consensual, non-con elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 14:19:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15664914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarai377/pseuds/sarai377
Summary: The long-awaited alternate scene from Protected - where Frederick says yes instead of no, during Robin's heat.Chrom/Robin as mates, Frederick/Robin as mostly-consensual sex.





	The Next Best Thing

**Author's Note:**

> An alternate set of scenes branching off from Chapter 6 of Protected. If you've read Protected, I don't think you need to reread it to understand this.

_The door opens._

_“Chrom,” he whispers, his voice hoarse._

_“No, it's not Chrom,” the familiar voice says. Robin can't place the speaker immediately, but as he comes closer, he can smell him._

_Beta. Libra._

_“What do you need, Robin?”_

_Robin forces his eyes open, stares up at Libra, who looks back at him calmly. What does he need?_

_The next wave is approaching, cresting inside of him. He wants it to stop, to ride that wave instead of getting swept away. Robin has only seen the ocean once, but he's read accounts of sailors caught at sea during a storm. It seems to him an apt description of what is going on in his body right now._

_What does he need?_

_“Chrom.”_

_Libra’s eyebrows come together, and there's that pity again._

_Robin winces away, turning his head to the side and closing his eyes against it._

_Libra’s voice grates against him, although he knows that the beta is being as soothing as he always is. “Robin, Chrom isn't back yet. I'm not sure when he's going to return.”_

_“Frederick,” he whispers, and digs his fingers into the sheets. “Need Frederick.”_

_“Robin, are you certain...” Libra begins, but the rest of his question is lost to the flood of base need._

 

When his awareness returns, Libra is gone, and Frederick is there in his place.

Alpha floods the room, swirls in hypnotic patterns around him like invisible incense. “Oh, gods,” Robin breathes, and shivers as his skin reacts to it.

Sweat builds up on Robin’s forehead, fabric brushing sensually against him. He’s aware of how naked he is, in the presence of that alpha power.

Robin looks up and his breath catches. There’s desire in Frederick’s eyes, heavy as they fill with pupil, and his mouth parts slightly. He’s scenting Robin. Robin can’t look away, even though part of him knows he should. Meeting an alpha’s eyes when he’s like this is not smart - but Robin can’t look away. It’s like a parched man stumbling toward an oasis.

Frederick comes closer, and Robin lets out a soft moan in supplication. It is enough, that wordless sound, and Frederick comes onto the bed on his knees. Every nerve in Robin’s body tingles in the alpha’s presence. This feels right, but also very wrong.

Even though his body is seeking that missing puzzle piece, that one person who will fit into him as if he’s belonged with him forever… Robin submits to that alpha power without a word of command, rolling onto his hands and knees and tilting his hips. He's presenting, a distant, analytical part of him realizes. He never knew how good it would feel, how right. All embarrassment was burned out of him hours ago, and he just wants someone to fill this emptiness inside.

“Please,” he groans.

Frederick’s hand splays across his back, and Robin arches up into it, tossing his head and gasping. He’s been without this touch for too long, the alpha dominance making him burn hotter, need more.

A sharp inhale of breath is all the notice he gets before the bed shifts, and a heavy body, still fully clothed, is pressed against him. Strong legs and arms box him in, that muscular torso draped on top of him. Robin can feel that erection against his backside through the clothing, and he leans back into it. A whine bursts from his throat, impatient, needy, and a wave of warmth burns from his groin and up into his chest, and then back down again. He knows his body is leaking fresh lubrication for the alpha. That large body leans over him, a hand pressing against his back, deepening the submission until his chest is pressed into the bed. Hot breath brushes against his neck and he shudders with absolute delight.

“Please,” he gasps again.

Hands, calloused and rough from hours of training and lancework, run along his naked sides, and then fall still at his hips.

“Robin,” Frederick breathes against his neck, and Robin opens his eyes. It’s wrong, somehow - he was expecting another voice. “Are you absolutely certain you want this?”

“Yes.” A little breathy, but strong enough.

“What about Chrom?”

Chrom. The man who loves him. The alpha to his beta - no, his omega, now.

Robin’s alpha.

He opens his mouth to answer - perhaps, to tell Frederick that he’s right to bring up the prince - when the alpha shifts on his knees. His erection presses against him, and Robin gasps, hands gripping the sheets. Robin’s body sings with desire. It floods him like a tide, pushing thoughts of Chrom away, just wanting to be _filled._

He moans, and grinds back against that erection, body trembling. He wants it, and his body doesn’t care that it’s not Chrom. He’s _burning up_ , and it’s all too much to turn it down. “Fred… erick…” he chokes, “ _Please_.”

Robin knows Frederick is aroused, that he wants this too. When Robin presses back just so, he can feel the slight swell at the base of his cock, giving the intensity of his desire away.

Frederick curses, a short string of words that Robin has never heard him utter.

Alpha sizzles in Frederick’s darkened eyes, and when Robin opens his mouth he can taste it, tempting. Frederick studies Robin, nostrils flared, and when he leans forward, Robin shifts back into him. That pressure - he wants more.

“Be still,” Frederick warns, sharp.

Robin freezes, hands balled into the rucked sheets, obeying that command with everything he’s got. His body trembles, but he stays still. Frederick presses a hand to the back of his neck and lowers his forehead to the sheets. He whines when Frederick draws away, until only his knees are touching Robin’s inner legs. Robin wants to look back. _Be still._ There’s a rustling, and another wave of need crests within Robin. He lets it sweep some of his awareness away, his body offering up everything to that alpha presence behind him. “Please,” he whispers, barely aware of what he's saying. “Please, I need…”

Frederick’s hands touch Robin, one at his hip, the other running along the outside of his thigh. Robin trembles, but stays still as Frederick commanded, chest to the sheets, ass up in the air - presenting, still, willingly. “Please,” he says again.

Frederick leans his bare torso over Robin, and Robin gasps at the sensation of it. His chest is warm and soft, a contrast to his strong, angular presence in Robin’s mind. The alpha’s knees spread Robin’s legs wider, still in his soft slacks. The material scratches against tender skin.

Frederick leans over him, breath hot between his shoulderblades.

And there, at his entrance, is Frederick’s cock, no fabric between them now. He slides it between Robin's spread legs, letting Robin feel that heavy length, slick with Robin’s plentiful lubrication.

Robin lets out a pleading moan, desperate now, closing and opening his hands in the sheets. It takes all his strength to keep from pushing back onto it, to impale himself on Frederick. He senses what is within his grasp, and his omega impulses take over. The desire to fuck, to be bred, floods him. He casts a wanton look over his shoulder, looking up at the alpha. Frederick is gloriously naked, from shoulder to waist, as far as Robin can see beyond his own arched back.

Frederick’s hand goes into his hair, a soft, caring gesture, and Robin’s eyes flutter closed. “Don’t hate me when this is over,” Frederick whispers, and presses his fingers to Robin’s ass.

The sensation, where nobody else has ever been before, is strange. He knows, logically, that he was an omega before his memory loss, so someone else has been here before. But Robin doesn’t remember it. Frederick is, to Robin, the first.

He’s trembling so badly that Frederick puts a comforting hand to the small of his back, fingers rubbing in small circles. He whispers, soft and gentle, and Robin can’t make out the words above the sounds of his own body, the little panted groans.

Frederick spreads his fingers, deep inside, and Robin’s head jerks up. “Ahhh, gods,” he says, or tries to - he’s not certain how coherent he is.

Frederick presses his cheek to Robin’s shoulderblade, and adds another finger.

Robin pushes back into the slow drag, a whistled inhale the only sound when Frederick finds a sensitive spot, inside. He can feel how wet and slick it is, how his own lubrication clings to Frederick’s fingers.

“Please, please, fuck me,” Robin groans, throwing a hand back to Frederick’s wrist. “Please, I want it, please, ah!”

Frederick’s fingers are gone, and something larger is at his entrance. Robin tenses - he can’t help it, his body reacting to that presence - it’s too big, he thinks, a little crazed. But he wants it, aches for it.

Frederick pauses, and starts to speak - and blessed desire rushes through his body.

He relaxes, and lets Frederick in.

Robin cries out, all his attention diverted to that welcome sensation. There’s a pressure in his asshole, different from his fingers. It's already much bigger, almost blunt, but it presses into him, and Robin slowly opens beneath it.

Frederick pauses, hand at the small of Robin’s back, eyes closed, barely inside. He speaks, but Robin can’t hear him, can't hear himself making impossibly dirty noises. Another wave of heat crests in his mind, sending his thoughts spinning loose, like bits of Arcfire. _Gods,_ but he wants--

Robin presses back when Frederick hesitates. It hurts, but distantly, and Robin knows it will feel great soon. He needs it to feel great _now._

Frederick growls, a feral sound that sends delighted goosebumps up Robin’s spine, and his hands tighten on Robin, holding him still.

Robin growls back, peeling lips back from his teeth. He struggles, briefly, but Frederick is fresh and strong, and Robin weakened by his heat. He likes that Frederick holds him, unyielding. He stops fighting with an impatient little sigh, fingers splayed on the sheets, panting hard.

“I promised I would keep you safe. Trust me,” Frederick says, fingers rubbing little circles on his hips. His breath moves up Robin's spine, hot against his nape, and a tender brush of lips at his hairline has Robin easing down before he's even aware of the kiss. He's nowhere near that spot over Robin’s pulse, but it doesn't seem to matter. Just the touch of breath on his neck is enough.

Robin relaxes, and Frederick presses him flat to the bed, legs splayed around Frederick’s knees. Boneless, Robin relinquishes all control to the alpha above him. His erection digs into the mattress, pressed between sheets and stomach. There’s a peace in this - in giving this desperation to someone else. All that tension fades from his body. Frederick will take care of him. Robin is crooning, softly, halfway between a moan and a purr. The sound should surprise him, but he’s far past the point of caring.

When Frederick presses deeper, Robin lets him in. His heat isn't gone, no - it burns brighter, hotter, this alpha presence stoking the flames larger. It unfurls in Robin's core, dancing from his skin to the alpha, who takes it into himself. Robin doesn't think he's ever felt so alive.

Frederick stretches him, working his way ever deeper, and Robin sighs and accepts it.

“Good, Robin. That’s it,” Frederick whispers, his face near Robin’s ear. His erection pulses within Robin, slowly easing against those places that Robin’s fingers couldn't reach. It feels - warm, as if countering Robin’s heat, and so wonderfully hard. “Relax. I'll take care of you.”

Robin whimpers, and raises a hand to Frederick’s cheek, overwhelmed by the simple words and the intent behind them. It's so unexpectedly tender.

He turns his head to the side, resting on his cheek, and puts that spot right before Frederick's open mouth. _Bite_ _me_ , he thinks, hand slipping away, offering everything to that soothing alpha presence. _Bite me - take it - it will feel so good -_

“No,” Frederick growls into his shoulder, turning away. “No, Robin. I won't bite you. I can't. You're not mine to claim. Do you understand, Robin?” His voice is urgent, angry, but that anger isn't directed at Robin.

“Chrom,” Robin breathes, eyelashes fluttering. He's trapped beneath Frederick, at once lost to the sensations and intensely aware of what Frederick is doing for him. Part of him understands how much Frederick is sacrificing, how he's tearing his alpha inside out to protect Robin from a decision he cannot make. But Robin already has a mate. This is just… his heat. Robin’s omega is not going to choose Frederick. But Frederick doesn’t know that, and Robin can’t explain it, not in this state, his thoughts unraveling faster than he can contain them. “I --  yes, Frederick. Please…”

Frederick flexes his hips, and Robin gasps, eyes going distant and unseeing. There - _yes._

“You like that,” Frederick breathes, almost a question, and does it again. Robin keens in the back of his throat, back arching, Frederick’s movement sending bright sensation up his spine. “Gods, you feel so good…” Frederick shifts again, and Robin digs his toes in and moves back to meet Frederick the little bit he's allowed. Frederick sheathes himself inside Robin, as deep as he can go, and Robin groans. This is what he wanted - to be filled, plugged, all that emptiness nearly complete.

When Frederick pulls out, Robin whines, his hands going to Frederick’s hips, to force him back inside. But Frederick doesn't allow him to rush. He captures Robin's hands, holding them firmly above his head. Then Frederick rearranges them to his liking, brings Robin back up to his knees, chest still pressed into the bed. Robin shivers with anticipation as he feels the tip questing at his entrance once more, and Frederick slides home with one long stroke.

Robin moans, his whole body singing with sensation.

Then Frederick palms Robin's erection. His hand is warm and soft in places, firm and calloused in others, but decidedly perfect in every way. His fingers curl around Robin's erection, thumb dipping beneath the foreskin, foreign but welcome.

Robin forgets how to breathe, then remembers all at once, in fast sharp pants.

His hands are still held above his head, body pulled taut between Frederick’s ministrations, and in this submission Robin feels an orgasm cresting, promising blessed relief.

Frederick seems to sense its approach too, for he knows exactly what to do. He angles his next slow thrust past that bundle of nerves inside Robin, coordinating his hand, and Robin comes undone. He tosses his head, body wanting to spasm, to react, but unable to do anything except curl his toes and cry out. The orgasm roars through him, sweeping all thoughts away, stealing his breath too. He goes silent and rigid, and Frederick’s voice rumbles with pleasure against his shoulderblades, speaking gentle encouragements.

It lasts a long time, wrought out of him by Frederick’s attentive hips and hand, doing what he could not. Finally Robin relaxes, mouth thrown open, sweat tacky between their bodies. He gasps in great gulps of air, aware of the alpha’s hands on his hair and side, and of the gentle touches as he cleans his come. Frederick’s cock is still deep inside, but he’s no longer moving. Giving Robin time to recover, he supposes.

“Gods,” Robin whispers, hand finding Frederick’s wrist, holding his arm close. He’s exhausted, eyelids so heavy they keep drooping. The heat’s driving grip has loosened, and for a few precious moments he can _think_.

“Alright, Robin?”

He nods. “Thank you,” he whispers, and his body trembles with the memory of that orgasm, aftershocks burning through him. Finally, he gets his eyes to focus, and blinks up at Frederick, a faint smile crossing his mouth.

Frederick looks… upset. In this moment of clarity, Robin understands why he looks like that, why he seems hesitant. It brings him back from that pleasurable edge, reminds him that this is but a temporary respite. If Robin were in any state but this, he might have the words to comfort Frederick, to tell him he's doing the right thing. But he's been burning up for so long, and what he sees in the alpha is withdrawal.

“Don’t leave,” Robin whispers, and reaches back to touch the alpha’s cheek. If there's any alpha who could resist the temptation of an omega in heat, begging for him, it's Frederick. “Stay with me, please.”

“If we continue… this is too much to resist,” Frederick says, and looks away. His cheeks are flushed. “I… I’m going to knot you. Is that truly what you want?”

Imagining it growing even _larger_ , stretching him, locking them together… Robin’s body tightens, squeezing around Frederick’s cock, still buried in his ass. Frederick makes a strangled sound, hands going to Robin’s hip.

“Oh gods, yes,” Robin breathes, head falling to the bed, body reeling with sudden lust. “I want that…”

Frederick’s eyebrows come together, and then relax. He nods, and presses a kiss to Robin’s shoulder. “I won’t bite you,” he says, but he doesn’t sound at all certain.

Robin wouldn’t mind too much if he did, although part of him should be glad that one of them is trying to stay in control. He makes a soft noise of assent, and squirms against him. Anything to get Frederick moving again.  

Frederick’s face loses its harshness, just for a moment, going soft with what Robin is doing to him. Then he pulls out. Robin cries out at the sudden loss. Before he can do more than protest, though, Frederick takes hold of one ankle and rolls him onto his back. Robin falls against cooler sheets and stares up at Frederick's muscular body, momentarily entranced. His cock is hard and the tip shines with Robin’s lubrication, and it's slightly crooked… but it’s also the best thing he's ever seen. “Gods,” he whispers, and licks his lips.

Frederick shudders and his cock twitches, and a little hastily he gets in position, which suits Robin just fine. Those abs tense as he comes close, and Robin touches them, feeling muscle and strength beneath his trembling fingers.

He wants to watch Frederick entering him, but another wave of need rushes through, leaving him gasping and mewling and begging. When it finally passes, Frederick is thrusting hard, one of Robin’s knees hooked over Frederick’s elbow.

Robin reaches for Frederick, and the alpha allows him to draw him close. He gasps with every thrust, pressing his sweaty cheek against Frederick’s, wanting all this contact, and more. He grabs the back of Frederick’s neck, shoving his face into his corded neck and breathing in that powerful alpha scent, like fresh clean linen and smoke. He finds that pulse, where his scent seeps out strongest, and breathes it in with his mouth, a kiss in reverse. Alpha burns his senses like pollen, but he doesn’t turn away.

Frederick makes a strangled noise, and a hand presses Robin back down to the sheets. “Don’t,” he reminds him, his pace faltering.

“I won’t,” Robin says, and rubs his mouth against Frederick’s palm. He's not sure exactly what he's agreeing to. Anything, as long as he keeps doing _this_. “Just… want to taste you.”

“Hnngh,” Frederick says, and thrusts hard. His eyes flash. “You are trying my _patience_.”

Robin squirms against Frederick’s hold, tightens his legs around Frederick’s hips. He likes the sound of that. “Don’t be patient,” he says, brazen with desire. “I want your _knot_.”

Frederick curses again. “Stop talking,” he orders, and kisses Robin.

As kisses go, it's a good one. Nothing like Chrom’s fierce kiss, in the hall after Olivia’s heat, but it silences Robin as effectively.

Frederick is an attentive kisser, attentive and oddly gentle. His mouth is demanding, but there’s a sweet sort of hesitance, not taking where it’s not offered. But Robin offers. Robin loses himself in that kiss, in Frederick, and only resurfaces when Frederick pulls away.

Frederick had to sacrifice depth for the kiss, making shallow movements to keep their faces close, but now he increases his motion. Robin trembles, all words washed away, groaning as that alpha cock fills him up more and more. That one orgasm only whetted his appetite, and he feels another one gathering like storm clouds on a far horizon, drawn closer with every thick thrust.

Frederick hovers close, and a bead of sweat drips from his nose into Robin's mouth. He flicks out a tongue to taste it, between hard breaths. Salty and tangy, with a bit of alpha in it - Robin wants more. He sits up, mouth open, aiming for that delicious neck - only to be thwarted by a large hand, again.

“Don’t,” Frederick warns again.

Robin whines and licks between those fingers, taking what he can get of the soothing alpha scent. He’s not going to bite him - that’s for Chrom, later. He just needs alpha all over his skin, inside and out.

Frederick growls as Robin takes one finger between his lips and curls his tongue around it, and his other hand tightens on Robin's hip. The next thrust pops that finger from Robin's mouth, and he throws his head back. It's just this side of pain, and Robin can't help but whine out Frederick's name. His knot, Robin realizes in a haze. It's so… big.

The alpha stops, which Robin doesn't like. He hooks a foot around Frederick's hip and pulls himself closer, moving up the alpha’s legs, attempting to do it himself.

“Wait,” Frederick says, his voice gravel and unyielding rock.

“Please,” Robin groans.

“I won’t hurt you.”

“Doesn’t hurt,” Robin pants, even though the sensation of that expanding knot, pressed almost into him, probably will. “I want--”

Frederick’s hand goes around Robin’s neck, briefly, and then his fingers press into that spot. It’s something, a faint wave of relaxation like water trickling down rocks. Robin feels his body ease down, just a bit.

Frederick tries a tentative thrust, and Robin breathes out, concentrating on the stretch and drag. It’s so _big_ , and he wasn’t expecting that. Is it going to get even bigger? For a moment, panic surges through him, chasing away the desire. “Wait, wait,” he breathes, and Frederick stops.

“Is this still what you want?”

“Frederick,” Robin growls, and opens his eyes, and meets that alpha stare. Frederick’s eyes are all pupil, and his face is a strange twist of urgency and concern. Robin presses his hand to Frederick’s cheek. “Please, knot me.”

Frederick’s jaw works beneath Robin’s hand. He flexes his hips, working his cock out of Robin, and then easing it inside. Robin closes his eyes and concentrates on opening, on how good it will feel when he’s inside. A flash of heat shoots through him, destroying that concentration, and he arches off the bed. “I need it, please,” he hears, distantly, and it’s his own voice, raw and cracking. “Please, Frederick, _please_ …” He trails off into a senseless whine, tears pricking his eyes, it shouldn’t hurt like this, it should be _easier_ …

Frederick takes hold of his neck, gently, and Robin turns at the first whisper of hot breath. He turns into it, into Frederick’s panting, and Frederick buries his face in Robin’s neck, right over that spot - and bites down.

Robin goes limp, so fast that Frederick almost doesn’t catch him. Waves of pleasure, almost like an orgasm, dance across and under Robin’s skin, emanating from that bite. If he were more present, more aware, he might be shocked at his own reaction. But in this moment, it feels natural to be like this.

Frederick shifts his hips, and Robin lets the knot in. It feels so good, and a little tremor of delight runs through Robin, up his spine and into his brain. He hums, soft, contentedly, and vaguely he smells omega pheromones easing off his skin.

The knot _drags_ inside, and they both let out soft eager noises, Frederick’s notably lower in pitch.

“Okay?” Frederick asks.

Robin gives an affirmative moan, trying to nod. _Fuck me_ , he thinks, _fuck me fuck me fuck me--_

Frederick finds a rhythm inside, slow, giving him time to accept the knot with each movement. He’s released that spot on Robin’s neck, but Robin still feels deliciously boneless.

Frederick changes the angle, pressing into that bundle of nerves at Robin’s core, shooting white sparks through his body. He lets out what must be a piteous moan, intensity cresting inside of him.

“I’m going to--” Frederick says, quick.

“Yes, Frederick--” Robin gasps back, and grabs his hand, sliding his sweaty fingers between Frederick’s, as if that will hold him in place, contain his essence.  

It doesn’t.

As Frederick thrusts inside, giving a final cry, the knot pops through - and Robin’s body explodes with sensation. He hears himself screaming, his voice already raw, and then doesn’t hear anything else for precious seconds or minutes or hours. Everything is awash in light like sunbeams through crystal. He’s aware of Frederick, locked into him, and the warmth of their skin, melting into each other.

Robin’s breath is starting to slow when he comes back. Frederick’s body sags against him, a welcome weight.

Robin feels when the alpha orgasms again, inside of him. He'd never thought about it before his heat, but if he had, he never would have believed it would feel _good_. Frederick's face is slack and gone soft, even his eyebrows an expression of delight. His breath is in sharp pants, chest heaving against Robin.

He pats Frederick's brown hair, and the alpha stirs.

“You must hate me,” Frederick whispers, bowing his head against Robin’s sweaty shoulder.

Robin shivers at that tone in his voice. “Hate… you?” he echoes, still breathing hard.

“For doing this. For not being strong enough to resist… you.”

“I could never hate you,” Robin says, and squeezes at the knot. “You are helping me.”

Frederick’s hips twitch, and another orgasm squeezes out of the alpha. He’s tense, and when he can speak again, he says, “I am not your mate.” Frederick refuses to meet his gaze as he says it.  

“Look at me,” Robin says, with perhaps more dominance in his voice than he should.

Frederick does, unwillingly, a hint of sharp warning in his eyes.

Robin caresses Frederick’s cheek. He can tell Frederick wants to lean into it, but he resists. “This is my first heat, and you are helping me. I could never hate you for this.”

“What about Chrom?”

Robin swallows, glancing to the side for a moment. Chrom will be furious, no way around that. “He’s not here,” Robin finally says, although his stomach twists. “But you are.” And he smiles at Frederick. Their situation is absurd, and a laugh almost bubbles forth, but he stops it. “I am glad it’s you, Frederick.”

Frederick's eyes go distant again - another orgasm wrung out of his knot - and when they return, he is smiling too. “If it had to be someone other than Chrom… I'm glad it’s me, too.” And he kisses Robin on the cheek. “Now, you should rest… before the next round.”

Robin doesn't think he can, but Frederick won't take any protests, he can tell by the gleam in his eye. So Robin closes his eyes, and sleep claims him in moments.

~*~

Robin doesn't think of Chrom, then, but Frederick does. As Robin's breathing slows into sleep… Frederick's mind goes in ever more dangerous circles. Even with the omega curled up against him, he is aware of the distinct wrongness of having sex with his liege-lord’s _mate._ Of touching him as only his mate should. Of hearing those brazen sounds that only Chrom should -

Another orgasm splashes through him, and he surrenders to it with a little groan. Robin, mostly asleep, raises a hand to his shoulder, though it slips off after a moment. Frederick shudders, knowing this is wrong… but he also stands by his statement. He's glad it’s him. He will do right by Robin… or at least, try.

When he looks up, that bite mark stands out against Robin’s pale, sweaty skin, red and bold. _I bit him_ , he thinks, a little horrified. He hadn't meant to - had wanted to make this work without doing that - but with Robin’s reaction, hurting and aching and begging, Frederick hadn't been able to resist.

_I could never hate you for this_ , Robin had said, so logical. It had felt out of place, with Frederick's knot buried in his body, but there had been awareness in his expression as he said it.

Frederick's last orgasm comes, and goes, and he sinks down against Robin, exhausted already. It had been a long day, keeping himself busy and away from Robin’s scent. And then to be drawn back into it, for Libra to send for him… to tell him Robin was begging for him… it was too much to resist.

Robin breathes in deep, and sighs it out. His skin is flushed and sweaty, hair plastered to his forehead. Frederick is stuck to him, come and lubricant and sweat mingled together between their bodies. He reaches for his handkerchief, but stops, remembering that he’d already cleaned Robin’s first orgasm with it.

He needs more handkerchiefs, or towels, or something. He spots a pile across the room, very much out of reach. Frustrated, he uses a corner of the crumpled sheets to wipe them mostly clean. Robin doesn't even stir, his breathing normal, easy, sleep taking hold.

_Good_ , Frederick thinks, pride and alpha concern satisfied.

“Frederick.”

He tenses, glancing to the side.

Libra holds a jug of water, moving to replace it on the cart beside the bed.

A wave of protective energy runs down his spine, and Frederick curls an arm around Robin. But Libra is here to help.

“Ah, good,” Libra says, studying them both with an analytical eye. “He’s sleeping.” If Libra sees the mark on Robin's neck, he makes no comment. He hands Frederick a glass of water, and he takes it, surprised to see his hand is shaking. The water is cool and soothing - Robin is burning up, his body so hot where they touch.

“How much longer will it last?” Frederick asks, handing the glass back.

Libra shakes his head. “Another day, maybe two. He woke up yesterday morning like this, and it’s past sundown now.”

Frederick frowns at the window. Night has fallen, stars twinkling against the dark velvet sky.

Libra continues, “We have no baseline, and this is the first… Those are usually more volatile.”

Frederick nods, and brushes his knuckles along Robin’s cheek - he probably shouldn't, but he can’t help but touch him. The knot is lessening, his urges subsiding. In a few minutes he will be able to pull out, although he doesn't want to. Robin isn’t his mate, he reminds himself, sternly.

“If you plan to leave, now would be the time,” Libra says.

“I'll stay for the duration, if he’ll have me.” He thinks Robin will - that begging had nearly undone him.

“You should sleep when he does,” Libra tells him.

“I will. Later." Frederick can't keep the growl out of his voice. His alpha is roused, driven by their intimacy to protect Robin, even from this beta he knows is just trying to help. "Not for the first one.”

Frederick has done this before, with his fellow squires, long ago. He’d been good at helping them through their heats. His concern with Robin is that they didn't discuss this beforehand. Every other encounter, there’d been enough time to speak, without the heat clouding both their minds. But Robin is completely in its throes, now, and his decision-making is compromised.

Frederick leans in and sniffs him. To his delight, and a bit of disappointment which he buries deep, Robin still smells like Chrom. Still intended for Chrom. Good. He hasn't erased the tentative bond they'd already formed.

“See if he’ll drink,” Libra says, apprising Robin with a critical eye. “I’ll bring some berries by, in a bit. He’s sweatier than I’d expect, at this point. Going so long without is making him too hot.”

Frederick nods, taking this assignment seriously. He will take care of Robin, for both Libra and Chrom. “I’ll ring for you if there’s any change.”

When Libra leaves, Frederick eases himself out, then gathers up the towels. When he returns to the bed, Robin is curled on his side, face tucked into the curve of his elbow, and the way he lies is almost chaste. He rouses when Frederick crawls back to him, dark eyes glinting open briefly.

“Here, drink,” Frederick says, and helps him drink down almost a whole glass.

Robin seems… almost aware, almost himself, even as he clings to Frederick. Robin leans up against him, his body a furnace, and Frederick wraps a bracing arm around him. He’s a bit unsteady. Frederick finds their shared nakedness slightly disconcerting. Robin obviously doesn't care about it, in a way that's quite telling.

“Alright?” Frederick asks.

Robin smiles, tiredly. “Now that you’re here.”

Frederick’s stomach twists.

Robin’s heat rises again, shortly after that, and thankfully they are both absorbed by it.

~*~

Frederick has Robin up against the headboard when Libra appears at their side. Robin is unaware of the beta’s presence, lost to his heat. It’s not the first time Libra has been in while they’ve done it, and Frederick doesn’t look at him. He’s close, and so is Robin, their bodies moving together in easy unison, as his knot threatens to swell.

Libra speaks, loud and anything but calming, and it takes Frederick a precious few seconds to understand the words. When they finally do penetrate the fog in his mind, he slows.

“What?” he breathes, needing Libra to repeat it, because certainly he’s misunderstood.

Robin trembles and clings to the headboard, moaning with the change of pace, and Frederick squeezes his hips in wordless apology. "Hush," he whispers into the curl of Robin's ear. 

Robin’s stifled gasps are a strange counterpoint to Libra's words. “Chrom is back. He’s in the courtyard.”

**Author's Note:**

> There will be one more chapter of this one, but it was getting VERY out of hand, and I don't usually post chapters of more than 4k words at a time. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


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